Interview with StephanieProchaska

Q1. Describe your writing in three words.

Fun, energetic, evolving.

Q2. In your opinion, what are the elements of a good story?

The most important elements to me are relatable characters and suspense. A good story doesn't have to be a seat-gripping thriller, but it also shouldn't telegraph absolutely everything before it happens. There should be an element of surprise. And of course, the characters should be relatable. They need to have understandable motives, even if they're not the heroes of the story.

Q3. What was the biggest challenge of joining the Shiver Me Timbers contest?

The biggest challenge for me was to take six completely different prompts and merge them into a coherent story. It ended up making for a fun little adventure where the characters got to bounce from one situation to another. It's probably not something I normally would have done, and I think it ended up making a better story because of the slightly hectic nature of it.

Q4. What are some of your writing inspirations?

Two of my biggest inspirations are Dick Francis and my dad. Dick Francis's mysteries were some of the first "grown up" books I'd ever read, and I've always loved how he incorporated his knowledge of horse racing so well into his stories. They were captivating while also teaching me things I didn't know. As for my dad, he was the one who suggested I start telling myself stories in my head to help me go to sleep when I was a kid. That turned into me thinking about different characters and how they would act and later writing those stories down to share with others.

Q5. What are some of your favourite stories (on and off Wattpad)?

Off Wattpad, some of my favourite stories are Longshot by Dick Francis, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams, and Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. I always liked the humour and fun in Hitchhiker's Guide and Good Omens, and the tension in Longshot. I also liked how the main character of Longshot explained how he'd write a book and would call it "Longshot" in a way that worked really well within the story.

On Wattpad, some of my favourite books have been Phoenix by LKSkripjack, because of the really interesting world and the way the story progressed, Prince Charming Must Die by BrittanieCharmintine because it was hilarious, and Boys of West Denton by Olivaughn because, even though I don't normally read romance, the characters were people I cared about and was concerned for throughout the story.

Q6. If you could invite anyone for a tea party, which three would you pick?

If I could pick anybody for a tea party, I think the first two I'd probably pick would be Cruella DeVille and Agatha Christie. Cruella was one of the first villains I remember as a kid. And even though she was scary, she was also pretty bad at enacting her plan. I think Agatha Christie would be a really interesting person in general, and she'd have a lot of critiques of Cruella and what she should have done to actually cover her tracks. I'd also like to bring along a modern-day detective. He doesn't have to be anyone famous, just someone good at his job. I think it'd be really interesting to see him describing newer cases to Agatha Christie and her figuring out complicated plots with modern science involved.

Q7. Do you have any other works in progress? (Briefly tell us what it's about.)

Recently, I finished the first book in my djinn series, Nobody Likes Megan McGowen. It's about a high school girl who finds a djinn and the trouble it naturally causes. It's the first story I've written that has more than one perspective coupled with somewhat unreliable narrators. It helps to make the unequal power dynamic between the characters that much more fun.

I'm currently working on the third book in my vampire series, called Blood Relatives. (The first is You Were What You Eat.) It's a series that follows two vampires and their human friend as they navigate high school and overcome the various monsters in their town and sometimes at school.

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